I'm not saying it went off without a hitch. In fact, I suffered my own personal worst nightmare. I bought two new educational games for Riley's Leap Pad tablet in the fall when they were on sale and LOST them. They simply vanished. I found the receipt so I know I'm not crazy. I even have a witness to me "putting them away", but they never turned up. I HATE losing things. I was super bummed. It actually happened twice this holiday season, the one gift card Mike didn't immediately pass to me seems to have walked off, but at least there's not a time crunch to find it since it's ours. Other than the lost items, I suffered a lot of unexplained anxiety this holiday season. It was so unlike me and there really weren't horribly stressful situations occurring. Things were well in hand, I had healed to the point that I felt more myself than I have in a long time and opportunities for merriment and memory making were everywhere. I'm 90% sure it's the hormone regulation method causing me distress. After the New Year I'm detoxing from this crap and trying something else. Fingers crossed for a more permanent and natural solution.
We had thoughtful gifts (store bought and home made) for all our wonderful friends and family. Mike did home roasted flavored coffees again. He always uses fair trade certified green coffee beans, but this year both the coffee and flavors were completely organic. The kids stockings were bursting at the seams (I actually had to wrapp stuff and stick it under the tree last minute). We had an amazing family Christmas card to follow up "Happy Smallidays." For the first time ever we weren't late to Christmas brunch. Not only were we on time we were the first ones there! The host was stunned. It was a result of my careful planning (including something for the kids to do while we sit in the car waiting for Daddy Christmas morning, which we didn't need for the first time ever) and Mike being much more on the ball with his project.
It was a huge deal to have all our gifts so well received and to see our kids so delighted. I worked hard all year collecting gifts and a lot of them involved interviewing spouses/debating with my spouse/ninja-like stealth. It was sooooo worth it. It was a very Merry Christmas. I was so grateful to spend it with my whole family the one I was born into, the one I married into and the one I made. On top of all that I was beyond overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and generosity of others this season. I am still in shock from all the love and kindness. As if my heart weren't bursting with happiness already Christmas dinner was perfect!
For a few years now, I do a roast in the crock pot with veggies and potatoes for our Christmas dinner. Some years it turns out better than others. Thanks to an amazing book we gave as a Christmas gift (The Science of Good Cooking) we had new knowledge of how to prefect it. I highly recommend that book, Mike called it "how to cook correctly." He would not let me wrap it until the last minute because he wanted to read as much he possibly could. We ended up ordering ourselves a copy. In the end it was worth a little studying because the roast was AMAZING. Great end to a great day.
This holiday season we had tons of fun, spread some Christmas cheer, baked, spent time with friends, gave back to those who helped and supported us during the year and kept the magic alive for the kids for another year.
I hardly stepped foot in a store thanks to gathering Christmas gifts through the year and online shopping. I highly recommend not shopping in-store in December if you can help it! Those cute jammies I gave the kids for Christmas Eve? $5 each pair online with free shipping. Aren't they adorable? That awesome Hello Kitty outfit? $6.00 -marked down from $40 to $20 minus the $15 rewards money I got for buying Mike's gift on the online black Friday sale- I win! I'll keep my sales/deals & coupons brag short.
This Christmas was full of love and gratitude. We were all grateful. In a comedic twist Mike and I both gave each other mops and cameras. The kids were absolutely ecstatic. Even Leeloo was rewarded for her good behavior. I actually wept exclaiming "oh, my heart" as Riley opened one of her gifts Christmas morning. I felt her joy and it was overwhelming. It was a wonderful Christmas.
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